It's been five years or so since I've bought a new game. Well, I think I bought one game, Kings Bounty, in that time. Before that, I think the last game I bought was Oblivion. Since that time, I've been playing some Civ4, EQ2, and lately Titan Quest. I made a New Years resolution to get back into gaming (in addition to stop smoking (crack), lose weight, quit drinking, call my mother etc.). I haven't been following gaming much but I did put together a new system this past summer (i5-2500k, Radeon 7850, 8 gigs ram, Win7 64). I've got an itch to put a new game on it!

My favorite games are Daggerfall, Civ4, MOO2, Everquest. I like RPG's and Strategy games best.

I don't like DRM. Having to put a disc in doesn't bother me. But things like phone home, always online, limited activations, third party software etc bug me.

I checked out Good Old Games this week. Not a fan of digital distribution, but they had a sale going on that ended this morning so I caved and picked up The Witcher 1 and 2. Legend of Grimrock (?) looked interesting too, I might try that.

So, if you're so inclined, what are a couple of the great games over the last few years that I might start with?

If you liked Titan Quest, I would try both Diablo III and Torchlights I and II. I liked, even loved those for a time, but they just didn't have the legs for me that Diablo I/II had -- but I'm not 32-35 anymore either.

And even though both games (D3, TL2) sort of advanced co-op multiplayer in their own way, I didn't find either quite as much fun as the earlier Diablo games in spite of their lacking the advancements, nearly everyone having broadband today etc. I guess I'm weird and perhaps too old for gaming now -- I always keep feeling like I had more fun in the days of 9600 baud modems and CRT monitors and crude VGA/SVGA graphics.

The games you picked up from GOG are good. The Witcher 1 may not be the best game to jump back into PC gaming with after being away for 5 years though. It has some pacing issues during the first half of the game, and then gets really good later. The Witcher 2 is excellent.

I agree wholeheartedly with the recommendations for Torchlight 2 (mouse click action rpg), XCOM: Enemy Unknown (great strategy game), Skyrim, and Borderlands 2 (action rpg fps). I'd avoid Diablo 3 since you have to always be connected to battle net, which you said you didn't like that kind of DRM. If you like the Total War formula of strategic and real time strategy, Total War Shogun 2 is very good.

I'm not sure if Torchlight 2 has a retail version, but the rest of the games mentioned do.

I don't like DRM. Having to put a disc in doesn't bother me. But things like phone home, always online, limited activations, third party software etc bug me.

I might recommend a different hobby, then, because PC gaming is absolutely rife with DRM outside of GOG and Humble Bundle (usually).

Yeah, if you are getting into PC gaming again, you will want to read up on digital distribution services like Steam, Origin, GOG and Gamestop and common DRM companies use these days (Steamworks, Securom, Uplay, GFWL). Some DRM are worse than others.

PC games has moved towards digital distribution, and even buying a game in a store will require you to activate it online (usually through Steam).

Some games to check out:

Fallout New Vegas (I enjoyed this better than Fallout 3)Dawn of War II series of games (if you are into RTS)

Some great games already mentioned. I'd also through Fallout 3 as one to consider.

Fallout 3 is great, but I would recommend getting Fallout: New Vegas over the original. Better story and game play. And since the two games have completely different stories, you can always go back to the first one if you need more Fallout.

It's been five years or so since I've bought a new game. Well, I think I bought one game, Kings Bounty, in that time. Before that, I think the last game I bought was Oblivion. Since that time, I've been playing some Civ4, EQ2, and lately Titan Quest. I made a New Years resolution to get back into gaming (in addition to stop smoking (crack), lose weight, quit drinking, call my mother etc.). I haven't been following gaming much but I did put together a new system this past summer (i5-2500k, Radeon 7850, 8 gigs ram, Win7 64). I've got an itch to put a new game on it!

My favorite games are Daggerfall, Civ4, MOO2, Everquest. I like RPG's and Strategy games best.

I don't like DRM. Having to put a disc in doesn't bother me. But things like phone home, always online, limited activations, third party software etc bug me.

I checked out Good Old Games this week. Not a fan of digital distribution, but they had a sale going on that ended this morning so I caved and picked up The Witcher 1 and 2. Legend of Grimrock (?) looked interesting too, I might try that.

So, if you're so inclined, what are a couple of the great games over the last few years that I might start with?

-Cota

While Steam may not be your thing due to it being 3rd party software, you *really* need Skyrim with your list of favorites.

Having already bought The Witcher 1 and 2 off Good Old Games during their holiday sale ($10!), I went ahead and started there. Finished The Witcher this morning. Now I'm not sure if I want to charge straight into The Witcher 2 or not or take a break from Witchering.

Looking over the suggestions:

Borderlands sounds interesting. Requires Steam?

Skyrim. Yeah, seems a no brainer. I'm a huge Elder Scrolls fan. Big Daggerfall poster sill hangs in the computer room. The Elder Scrolls series has been in decline since Daggerfall though, in my opinion and I wonder if Skyrim doesn't continue that trend. Still, it's Elder Scrolls. Requires Steam?

XCom. Sounds Great. Loved the original games. I couldn't find what DRM it uses.

Fallout 3/New Vegas. Really enjoyed the original Fallout games as well. Requires Games For Windows Live?

Dragon Age. There's something called the "Dragon Age Ultimate Edition" on Amazon. Comes with all DLC/Expansions. Best I can tell it requires a username and password on a Bioware site to get a patch that makes it DRM free. I think I'll get this. Dragon Age 2 sounds like it's got some sort of Electronic Arts DRM *shudder*. Did EA buy Bioware or something? I'll skip 2 if that's the case.

Torchlight 1 and 2. Torchlight 1 is on GOG. I'll put this on my list for the next Action RPG urge.

About Steam. From what I've read, it's the way to go, if you're going to give in to third party DRM. I'm not sure I'm ready to give in just yet though. I just hate the idea. I'm old and set in my ways. Unfortunately, it seems like it's Steam or nothing.

I'm going to go with either Dragon Age 1 or The Witcher 2 I think. Thanks for the suggestions.